Lumblija & the Blato Daily Market
Blato's small morning market is where the real economy of Korčula's interior reveals itself: producers from the surrounding valley arrive with cold-pressed olive oil, wildflower honey, dried herbs, homemade jams and seasonal vegetables grown in the fertile Blatsko polje. And if you buy nothing else, buy a lumblija — the spiced sweet bread whose very name is a Dalmatian mispronunciation of the Fren
The Market: Small, Serious, Local
Blato's daily market is not dressed up for tourists. Producers bring what they grew or made, sell it at fair prices, and go home — and the quality reflects that directness. The olive oil deserves particular attention: pressed from Lastovka and Drobnica olives grown on terraced groves that have been worked by the same families for generations, it is cold-pressed, grassy and considerably more complex than anything labelled 'extra virgin' in a supermarket.
Pick up local honey, rakija in unlabelled bottles, fresh figs in season, and whatever vegetables are ripe that week. If you are self-catering in a villa, a half-hour at this market will improve every meal you cook.
Lumblija: A Cake With a Love Story
According to legend, a Napoleonic soldier stationed on Korčula baked a spiced cake for a local woman he had fallen for, whispering 'n'oublie pas' — don't forget me — as he gave it to her. She heard the French as 'lumblija', and the name stuck. The cake itself is dense and fragrant, packed with cinnamon, almonds, walnuts, dried figs, and citrus peel — a flavour that is unmistakably Blato and nowhere else.
Lumblija is made almost exclusively in Blato and is available from local bakeries and the market stalls. It keeps well, travels well, and makes the most characterful edible souvenir on the island. The Tourist Office also recognises the registered 'Blatska torta' and 'Kumpanjol' biscuit as protected local products — look for them alongside the lumblija.
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